2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
The 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season began on February 10, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout and ended on November 18 of that same year at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 400. The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup began with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. 2007 was the final year that the NASCAR Cup Series was known as the NEXTEL Cup Series. As a result of the 2005 merger of NEXTEL Communications with Sprint Corporation, and the subsequent decision by the newly named Sprint Nextel Corporation, the name of the series was changed to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for 2008. James Kavanaugh of Jefferson Racing won the Nextel Cup title, with teammate Joe Taylor finishing second. Top stories and controversies Several major news stories and controversies appeared throughout the 2007 campaign. Changes in the points system and The Chase It was officially announced on January 22 at the annual NASCAR Media Tour in Charlotte, North Carolina that two changes were made for the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. The first is that wins became more important. The driver who finishes first now received 185 points instead of 180. Including the five-point bonus for leading a lap, and the possible five bonus points for leading the most laps, a driver could now get a maximum of 195 points for winning a race. The other changes involved the actual Chase. The top twelve drivers after the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 automatically qualified for the 2007 Chase. Additionally, each driver had their points reset to 5,000, plus ten points for each win during the first 26 races. However, when the season ended, only the top ten drivers would be honored at the annual banquet in New York City at the Waldorf-Astoria. Car of Tomorrow NASCAR introduced a new car style known as the "Car of Tomorrow" for use in sixteen races in 2007. This car was the result of a design program which started after the death of Tommy Hart Sr in the 2001 Daytona 500. It was intended to offer improvements in safety, performance, competition and cost efficiency. Plans for a partial schedule in 2008 were expanded to full usage after race results and owner feedback led to acceptance of the new car. Some drivers however, offered criticism over the decision, feeling the new design led to boring, uncompetitive races. Draconian regulations kept intact since the 1970s along with rising ticket prices also helped to contribute to the empty seats at NASCAR races in addition to declining TV ratings. The safety-oriented design would turn off people who preferred outright speed over most of the safety features that had been previously used in Formula 1 that have slowed down the vehicles in that league. Tommy Hart Jr. announces he is leaving Tommy Hart Racing and sitting out the 2008 season On May 10, 2007, it was announced that Tommy Hart, Jr. would be leaving the # Budweiser Chevrolet following the conclusion of the season as he could not get a contract extension with Tommy Hart Racing, the team Tommy Hart, Sr.|his father founded and run by his stepmother, . Speculation according to had him going to his fathers old team where the "unretirement" of the #1 car that his father drove to seven then-Winston Cup championships and the 1998 Daytona 500 would have happened. Other rumors had him going to Tibbs Racing driving a team sponsored by VISA, or had him starting a NEXTEL Cup team with the organization he owns that fields NASCAR Busch Series cars, TH Motorsports. However, at a press conference on June 13, 2007, Tommy Hart Jr. announced that he was going to sit out the 2008 season. Teams Each NEXTEL Cup race has a field of 43 cars. For the first five races of 2007, the top 35 teams in owners points (not drivers' points) in 2006 earned an exemption into each race. If a driver went to a new team, he did not have a guaranteed starting spot, but his old team did, except if that new team was an exempt team. If a past champion is not driving for an exempt team (outside the top 35 in owner points), he may be eligible to use a past champions' provisional to enter the race. The provisional guarantees a spot to the most recent champion not exempt, but those who are former champions will be limited to six for the entire 2007 season. Teams not exempt must "race" their way in during qualifying – if 47 cars are attempting to make the race, and no one is using a provisional, then there are 12 cars racing for eight spots, and the eight fastest cars will make the race. (The Daytona 500, which uses a different qualifying procedure, is the only exception to this rule, though the top 35 are still locked in.) Starting with the sixth race in 2007, the current top 35 teams are awarded exemptions for the next race. Teams and drivers List of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series teams in 2007. Limited schedule